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I heard her telling Lucy afterwards that there was
a rose at Dykelands of the colour of her pattern,
and I dare say she did not say so, when it would have
been to the purpose, for fear I should say that damp
turns roses orange-coloured; and I could see she did
not defend her pendant with Captain Atherley for fear
I should tell her he was not infallible. No
wonder she pines for Dykelands; a fine sort of sister
and home she has found here, poor child.’

‘Oh! now you think so—­’ Anne
began, but here she stopped short, checked by her
dread of interfering between sisters; she could not
bear to add to Elizabeth’s bitter feelings of
self-reproach, and she could not say that her conduct
on the preceding evening had been by any means what
it ought to have been, that she had treated Helen
kindly, or that Helen had not suffered much from her
want of consideration for her. She only kissed
her cousin, and wished her good night very affectionately,
and nothing more was said that evening.

But Anne’s silence was often very expressive
to those who could understand it, and of these Elizabeth
was one.

The toilette of Katherine and Helen passed in a very
different manner that evening; Katherine did nothing
but giggle and chatter incessantly, about the game
they had been playing at, in order to prevent Helen
from saying anything about the result of their excursion
the evening before, and to keep herself from thinking
of the cowardly part she had been acting all day.
Helen only wished to be left in peace, to think over
her share in all these transactions, and to consider
how she might become a tolerably useful member of
society for the future; and on her making no reply
to one of Katherine’s speeches, the latter suddenly
became silent, and she was left to her own reflections.

CHAPTER XII.

Elizabeth was always fully employed on a Sunday, and
on that which followed the Consecration she had perhaps
more on her hands even than usual, so that she had
little opportunity for speaking, or even for thinking,
of her troubles.

Mr. Woodbourne was going to assist Mr. Somerville
in the services at St. Austin’s, leaving Mr.
Walker to do the duty at St. Mary’s, as the
old church was now to be always called.

Mr. Somerville had asked Mrs. Woodbourne to bring
all her party to luncheon at his house, and had added
a special invitation to the children to be present
at the opening of the new Sunday-school, which was
to take place between the services. It was however
necessary that someone should stay and superintend
what the young people called, rather contemptuously,
‘the old school;’ and this Elizabeth undertook,
saying that she did not like to lose one Sunday’s
teaching of her own class. Anne was about to
offer to remain with her and assist her, but on Helen’s
making the same proposal, she thought it better to
give the sisters an opportunity of being alone together,